sourced story
c. 1200 BCE (legendary)Reputable sourceDebated

The Trojan War

On the timeline · around c. 1200 BCE (legendary) · The Trojan War1,300 BCE1,250 BCE1,200 BCE1,150 BCE1,100 BCE

What happened

According to Greek legend, a coalition of Mycenaean Greeks under Agamemnon besieged the city of Troy for ten years to recover Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. The story is immortalized in Homer's Iliad. Archaeology at the site of Troy shows destruction around 1250 BCE, but the epic account is regarded as largely myth.

Why it matters

Whether or not a historical war lies behind it, the Trojan War became the central myth of Greek culture, endlessly retold in literature and art.

How we know

Homer's Iliad (8th century BCE) is the main literary source; excavations at Troy reveal a Bronze Age city with signs of conflict, but the epic is 'almost certainly more myth than reality.'

A real conflict may underlie the legend, but the epic account is largely myth and its historicity is debated.

Sources